Taiwan News Quick Take

Staff writer, with CNA

RELIGION

Karmapa plans 19-day tour

Trinley Thaye Dorje, a claimant to the title of the 17th karmapa, spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, is currently in the country to take part in a series of religious events. The Karmapa said he is very happy to be able to visit Taiwan again and hopes to have more contact with his followers here, adding that he will give his blessings to the country through the events scheduled to take place in northern, central and southern Taiwan. The Karmapa, who arrived on Monday, plans to stay for 19 days as part of a 180-day religious tour of the world. According to the Karma Kagyu Buddhist Association, which organized the visit, the religious leader has no plans to take part in any other activities besides the religious events. This is the Karmapa’s third visit to Taiwan.

CROSS-STRAIT TIES

Hubei’s governor to visit

The governor of China’s Hubei Province, Wang Guosheng (王國生), is scheduled to visit from Monday to May 14 to attend a series of industrial cooperation and development forums, and visit various organizations and business operations. He will arrive as the head of a 100-member delegation from the province, which will include Dongfeng Motor Co chairman Xu Ping (徐平) and Deng Qilin (鄧崎琳), general manager of Wuhan Iron and Steel. The delegation will visit several cities and counties during, including Taipei, Hsinchu, Greater Taichung, Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan. The delegation will also visit popular tourist sites, including the National Palace Museum, Alishan (阿里山), Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) and the Chung Tai Chan Monastery.

WEATHER

Expect downpours: CWB

Torrential downpours are expected nationwide over the next few days as the first plum rains of the season arrive, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. Rain has been falling heavily throughout Taiwan since a frontal system moved on Wednesday, with Greater Kaohsiung and Pingtung County recording precipitation of more than 130mm during the past 24 hours, the bureau said. The heavy rains are likely to continue nationwide until tomorrow, when the weather is forecast to stabilize as the front departs, the weather bureau said. Starting next week, cloudy skies with afternoon thundershowers can be expected in northern and central Taiwan, while daily temperatures will average 30°C nationwide, the bureau said.

HEALTH

Measles case sparks alert

People who had contact with a Chinese tourist infected with measles who recently left the country should closely monitor their health for a number of days, said Centers of Disease Control deputy director general Chou Jih-haw (周志浩). Chou said a man from China’s Jiangsu Province who arrived on April 18 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport aboard a Uni Air flight with a tour group from Nanjing developed a fever on April 21 and was confirmed as having measles the following day. The man left Taiwan on April 27 after treatment in quarantine, Chou said. Patients and medical personnel at the hospital where the man was treated, as well as passengers sitting three rows in front and behind him on the flight, should monitor their health until May 6, Chou said, adding that 89 people in total had been affected. Chou said the man also traveled on the No. 4187 train between Hualien and Yilan on April 24, so passengers who were on the train should also monitor their health for 18 days until May 12.